Need Some Help

Ok, so for the past month or so, Timothy has been coughing and had a mild cold. Last week, he would cough so bad at night going to bed that he would be up for an hour or so coughing before he fell asleep, or he would fall asleep coughing. This past weekend I noticed that he was better at night, but if he ran around a lot or played outside it would make him cough. Today he woke up coughing and spent the day throwing up mucus all day. Finally around 4pm he fell asleep and I was watching him and noticed that the skin around his ribs was sucking in every time he breathed in and he was breathing fast for someone who was sleeping...so I got him up and dressed and we headed off to urgent care. The doctor came in and I told him all of the above and he listened to him breathing and suggested that he get some chest x-rays so we headed off to get that done and when we got back from that he said there wasn't an infection but it sounded like asthma...so he prescribed an oral steroid that he only has to take twice and we're supposed to get a nebulizer and start doing breathing treatments 2-4 times a day.

So my question is for all you other moms out there who have had to go through this before (because I know you're out there!)...what should I do? Should I trust the diagnosis of the urgent care doctor and go ahead with the treatment or should I call the pediatrician and get him in there to someone who's a little more specialized with children? If it really is asthma, should I buy a nebulizer or just rent one? How long do you need to use it? Just until the symptoms go away? This is so new for us! Obviously I probably should have asked the doctor all of this, but I think I was just so surprised to hear him say asthma that I froze! Anyway, I would very much appreciate any advice anyone has to give and thank you in advance for your help!

Update in Pictures

Obviously it's asking to much for me to write about our life and post pictures at the same time :) So here are the pictures!

Whirlwind

Where do I start? We have been so busy lately! I decided to go back up to WA for a week mi-February since I know I'll have to start back to work sometime this month and I wanted to go up there while I could have a long visit so the kids and I left on the 16th and flew up there for a week. We had so much fun, but it went by soooo fast! We got to hang out with Heather and Tyler and Kevin the first couple days and then spent the rest of the week with Grammy and Grumpy and Brittany. Timothy had a blast playing outside - did I mention that we picked the best week ever to visit WA! It was mid-50's and sunny the whole time we were there, it was beautiful! We had so much fun though, it really did go by too fast.

Last Monday we came back but we brought Grammy with us! We had quite an ordeal getting out of Seatac, apparently there was something wrong with our plane so after they got everyone on board, they told us we had to get back off and it would be about an hour to fix it...finally about FIVE hours later we got out on an different flight. Mom and I were so thankful for the new play area in the airport, it was such a lifesaver to let Timothy go run around and play while we tried to figure out what to do! We finally made it home about six hours later than we were supposed to and we were exhausted!! We all crashed as soon as we got back, I don't even remember sleeping, I was so tired.

Tuesday morning we hung around the house and then that afternoon I had an interview for a job. I'm hoping it works out, mostly because I hate interviewing and I would rather just take a job as long as it's a good offer just to avoid more interviews!! We'll see what happens there. Wednesday the kids and I hung out while mom was over at Stefan's helping out with the kids there, Timothy was pretty excited when we got to pick up Grammy after church that night. Thursday morning mom watched the kids while I went to get my new driver's license and then we went to WalMart to pick up a few things.

Friday morning mom had to go back over to Stefan's and Charlotte and I went to the airport to pick up Aunt Brittany! We had fun shopping and hanging out at the house and then on Friday night mom and Britt watched the kids for us while Brandon and I went out to celebrate our anniversary (a little early, I know, but hey, we had babysitters!!). We had so much fun getting to go out without kids. We went to the Melting Pot, it's been our tradition each year for our anniversary. I had gotten a new dress and Brandon dressed up and it was so much fun. I was so thankful to have mom and Britt there so Brandon and I could enjoy some time together.

Saturday morning we all went over to see the new addition on Stefan and Stacia's house and to play with the kids and then we all went out to lunch together. Mom and Britt and Charlotte and I headed up to San Marcos that afternoon and braved the cool weather and wind to do a little shopping. On Sunday we went to church and met the Crafton crew for lunch and then mom and Britt and I drove down to check out the campus at St. Mary's where Britt's planning on going to law school. It was so pretty, it reminded me a little of Harding with all the old buildings and the pretty landscaping.

And then today they left to go home, it was sad, Timothy had a little meltdown in the airport crying but he was ok by the time we got to the car to come home and once he opened his new Thomas puzzle he was great! One of the best things we did this past week was spend some time looking around online for ideas for his birthday party. He is dead set on having a Star Wars party so mom and Brandon helped me find ideas for that, that was so helpful! So I guess sooner than later it will back to life as usual here. I'll be working and the kids will be in daycare and we'll get back in a routine. It's a little sad and a little surreal...it's been like a really good vacation, getting to stay home for so long, and while I don't want it to end, I know it's only temporary so I'll manage.

The week ahead should hopefully be a little lazy. Brandon's parents are coming up for a quick trip this weekend so I'm sure we'll have fun with them and then hopefully work will start soon. I'll try to post some new pictures soon!

Six Months OId

I can't believe Charlotte is six months old, I can't believe it's been half a year already. She's grown so much, I can barely stand it, she's HUGE!! And it's crazy how much she has learned and the tricks she picks up...she's so aware of everything around her now, I love watching her and trying to figure out what's going on in that little head of hers! Anyway, I took her to the doctor a couple weeks ago and she was 17 pounds 5 ounces and 27.25 inches long. The doc said she is in the top percentile for height and closer to the middle for weight. She's still a few inches shorter than Timothy was at 6 months and people always seem to think she's younger than she is...a lady at dinner tonight thought she was only 4 months old!! But anyway, here's what she's been up to lately:

I love to be on the floor, I love to roll around and scoot and play and I've started to crawl...backwards!

I love to "talk" to my big brother in the car, he makes me laugh and he sings songs to me.

I learned how to blow bubbles and I stick out my tongue and laugh every time!

I went on the airplane to see Grammy and Grumpy and I screamed for three straight hours...mommy was not too happy!

I love to grab anything that I can reach, one time I grabbed mommy's drink and dropped it on her foot!

Mommy says that I am the easiest baby ever to put to sleep, just lay me down and turn on my music and I roll over and go to sleep, just like that!

I can almost sit up on my own but sometimes I fall over, but then I get to lay on my tummy and scoot so I don't mind that much.

I love to talk and sometimes I squeal really loudly.

I started eating solid foods and so far I love sweet potatoes, prunes, and bananas, and I HATE peas, peaches, and squash.

See you all next month!!

More Pictures

Ready for church last night in their valentine's day outfits

Timothy drew these all by himself...he told me they were his Tylers...I was just impressed he drew them, not bad for a not even three year old!!

Timothy and Easton on the horse at Easton's birthday party


Timothy riding on Easton's bike, I think he got the hang of it pretty well...good thing since he's getting one for his birthday!

Timothy and Easton "driving" the car

Charlotte being silly in her jumper...she hasn't quite figured out how to jump in it yet, but she loves to play in it.

Charlotte and daddy at the zoo, she was not a happy camper that day, but she survived!

Timothy on the other hand, loved the zoo (or the suitcases, as he says) and asks to go back almost every day...good thing we bought a membership!

I was so glad we brought the stroller...haha, he had a good time riding on daddy's shoulders!

Updates

So I feel bad that I've been posting pictures without really giving any update as to what has been going on in our house for the last month. We have been so busy and dealing with colds and doctors and medicine and potty training attempts and sleepless nights so when I do sit at the computer I just haven't felt up to typing much and I don't really feel like it today so consider yourselves lucky :)

I'll start with Charlotte - she got hit pretty bad with the whole weather-changing allergy deal going on here and then that turned into an ear infection so we had some major runny nose days and coughing and congestion which meant crying every time I wiped her nose, filling up the aspirator every day, running the humidifier every night and a trip to our new urgent care center. By the way, I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I got one of those battery-operated aspirators for her and it's the BEST thing ever. No more yucky rubber bulb syringe and no screaming baby, it's great. It even plays music and I think it's much more effective at cleaning noses. Plus you can take it apart and wash it out real good so I know it's clean! Now that she's on medicine, she's back to her normal smiley self, just still not sleeping well. She usually goes down around 7 or 8 and then sometimes wakes up around 11, goes back down and sleeps till 3 or 4 and then is up pretty much every hour or two after that. She still naps ok which is nice, but I'm exhausted!! She started eating rice cereal a few weeks ago and did pretty well with it, we've added sweet potatoes this week and so far she seems to like them! She hates her medicine though. She's sitting up better on her own now, she still has to prop herself up on her arms, but it's getting there. She can push up on her arms all the way now but no crawling yet (thank goodness). She is grabbing at EVERYTHING now though and I have to watch what I carry in my hands with her. The other day she picked up my cup at a restaurant and dropped it on the floor (on my legs)...nice. She goes to the doctor next week for her 6 month check up. They weighed her at urgent care, but they didn't have a baby scale so they weighed me holding her and then me by myself...really what I wanted to do that night...but she had a wet diaper on and she was wrapped in a blanket cause it was chilly and she had a cold so they said she weighed 18 pounds, but I really doubt it. I'm thinking more around 16.5. She has such a sweet smile though, I just love it.

Timothy - cracks me up every day. He loves the Mama Mia soundtrack that I got for Christmas so now when we're in the car he asks to listen to either Honey Honey or Mama Mia and asks me to "turn it so loud please". He listens to everything that goes on around him, and it's hilarious to hear how he translates things. We took him to the zoo on Saturday and he kept saying we were going to the "suitcases". He loves to eat "belly jelly samiches" (pb&j sandwiches), and now when he plays Star Wars one of us gets to be Darth Baber, he's Starwalker, we play with our light sabers and he has to say"oh, you are my fader (father)" every time he "wins". I tell ya, I laugh every day at this kid! We tried potty training, but it hasn't been successful so far, he's just really not into it. It's hard to find the time to do it too with Charlotte, cause I have to feed her and change her diaper and he's just not understanding the whole "tell mommy when you have to go potty" part of this. Oh well, we'll try again later. I was hoping to have him done by his birthday, but it's just not looking like that will happen. Hopefully that won't be a problem when it comes to daycare. He's real big into copying what other people do...we have to sit like a daddy and dance like a Grumpy and he wraps his blanket around him and tells me he's like a Brittany and he cries like a Charlotte...it's funny to see what he associates other people with and what he remembers. That's his other new thing...every sentence starts with "member when I..." it can be like two seconds after he does something and I'll hear, "mommy, member when I crashed my cars on the table?". It's cute. He's also very aware now when I'm not paying attention to him and if I don't look when and where he asks me to he's sure to point it out and make sure I'm looking "this way". He's so sweet though, he likes to get his blankie at night and curl up next to me on the couch and cuddle, I soak up every single minute of it.

Brandon - not much to update there :) He does like his new job and loves his new truck. He still has every other Friday off of work so we enjoy having him home on those days. We're heading over to his parent's house this weekend for Easton's birthday so we're excited to see family and he's excited that we only have to drive there!

Me - not much else going on :) Busy as ever with these two little ones. I am supposed to go back to work in March so I'm really not looking forward to that, I've been home for six months, I don't want to go back now! It's only temporary though so that's nice to know. I'm very excited to go to the eye doctor tonight and get new glasses and contacts though, my old contacts hurt soooo bad I have the worst headache from them. The kids and I are leaving on the 16th to fly up to WA for a week so I'm really excited for that.

So that's life in our house these days. I have a really funny video of Timothy that I've been trying to post, but it hasn't been working so I'll just keep trying.

Pictures

Someone (who shall remain nameless) implied that I should post some more pictures...so here you go!!